If the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting a different result, then anyone who is still committed to bail reform should probably be committed. It’s delusional to think that New York City will ever recover without restoring public safety, and that means undoing the disastrous legislation that continues to force judges to let dangerous repeat offenders right back onto the street.
As the Post reported, 29 people were shot in the Big Apple this past weekend alone. Though we’ve seemingly reached the end of the pandemic, most major crimes are still trending upward compared with two years ago.
The stats are not surprising. They are the result of several years of reckless, anti-police policies from the state and city governments. Albany’s bail reform turned our jails into revolving doors; judges can’t even consider how dangerous a criminal is. Elected officials have spewed anti-police rhetoric; our cops are demoralized, demonized and don’t even have qualified immunity anymore.
The result: New Yorkers are getting smeared with feces, stabbed or hit on the head with a hammer on their way to work.
Mayor Eric Adams is trying to turn the tide, but he can’t do it without state lawmakers fixing their mistakes.
Assaults committed by career criminals and the mentally ill fill our newspapers every day, but one particularly stinks. Undoubtedly unaware he was creating the perfect metaphor for how New Yorkers are forced to live now, Frank Abrokwa, a mentally ill repeat offender, smeared his own feces on an unsuspecting commuter sitting on a subway platform. The crappy experience resonated in the media as evidence the city had finally hit bottom.
And despite a long rap sheet with 22 arrests, of course, Abrokwa was released.
Despite progressives’ war on cars, their bail reform and pro-criminal stances have ironically done more to encourage commuting by car to Manhattan than any automobile ad campaign ever could. One study estimates that Manhattan’s core will see another 85,000 private cars daily by 2023, with an attendant drop in public-transportation use.
We all know lots of New Yorkers who have taken to driving to work. They may have started because of the pandemic, but many tell me they are sticking with their cars because of crime. That means more traffic, more crashes and less revenue for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
Not even congestion pricing can compete with mortal danger. You know where I have never been beaten with a hammer or smeared with feces? My car.
My son’s fiancée told her Wall Street firm that she was afraid to take the subway after a frightening experience with an aggressive homeless man, so it arranged a car service for her. Many organizations want their employees back in the office, but not all can afford such an expense. Most workers have no such luxury. High crime on the streets and subways will cost New Yorkers jobs and businesses.
My wife, an Asian American, takes the extra time to commute to her job in Manhattan by bus to avoid the violence on the subway. The slower commute takes a toll on her quality of life, but the epidemic of assault and murder of Asian Americans has made us both concerned for her safety.
The NYPD’s Neighborhood Safety Teams finally hit the streets a week ago, despite progressive handwringing. It was long overdue and already shows promise. But getting criminals off the street means nothing if our judges are forced to allow them right back out.
Albany politicians continue to put Mayor Adams in an impossible situation. They are doing to this city what Frank Abrokwa did to that poor lady on the subway platform.
Gov. Hochul just announced that she will call for changes to bail reform, no doubt after having seen some polling results. Even the governor’s proposal, which takes many cues from Adams’ well-balanced subway-safety plan, will likely meet resistance from legislators.
The bail-reform zealots in the Legislature must face facts, as must the City Council. Both Democratic and Republican voters care most about public safety, and they will vote for a governor they think will flush disastrous bail reform down the toilet and restore sanity to the greatest city in the world.
Robert Holden, a Democrat, represents the 30th District, covering parts of Queens, in the City Council.
